


Stick

by BadLuckBlueEyes



Series: Snapshots 'Verse [14]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cameras, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, Photos, antidepressants, give him credit he's trying, jack's a good dad, stick's an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 06:51:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4597005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLuckBlueEyes/pseuds/BadLuckBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part fourteen of Snapshots, in which Stick appears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stick

When puberty hit Matt, Jack was sure that Matt was having a harder time than he did when he was Matt’s age. Most days, Matt struggled to get out of bed. Everything seemed to overwhelm him. It was either too loud, or too grating, or too much all around. Jack let him stay home on those days. He decided to intervene when his son’s grades started to slip and Matt couldn’t be bothered to fix them. He was clearly depressed and overwhelmed by everything. Jack hated seeing his kid suffering. 

He started looking for doctors, finally settling on one who could get Matt medicine that would help. The doctor gave him antidepressants, and Jack made sure that Matt was taking them. For a while, it seemed as though Matt was getting better and going back to his old self. He was getting out of bed, going to school, his grades were going back up. He plateaued not long afterward, and went downhill again. His mood had improved, but the constant overstimulation he had been experiencing was taking a toll on Matt that he could not handle. 

Jack went back to searching for something or someone who could do literally anything to help. His last-ditch attempt was someone he came across by chance who answered only to ‘Stick’. Jack called him, explaining the situation as best as he could, sighing in relief when Stick agreed to come by and see what he could do. 

When Stick showed up, Jack was momentarily surprised to see that the older man was blind. He realized immediately afterward that he shouldn’t have been so surprised. He introduced Matt to Stick and they went out, Stick leaving behind a promise that he could help and that Matt would get better. Jack, distracted by the last of his schooling, let them go, forcing himself to study in the meantime for the last of his finals. 

Whatever Stick was doing seemed to work though, as Matt came home that night with a small smile on his face and sat down to join Jack for dinner. It was a nice change from his skipping dinner and retreating to his room to curl up in bed with his pillow pressed against the side of his head in what had become his usual nightly routine. 

They celebrated with peanut butter and jelly, the only thing Jack could make with the few ingredients they had in the apartment. He had to go shopping. Matt didn’t talk much about his day, wolfing down his sandwich instead and moving to the couch to read while Jack resumed studying. 

They hadn’t been able to do anything together recently, not like they used to, what with money being tighter than normal as Jack backed away from fighting and focused on studying. They were spread pretty thin, but Jack was doing what he could. He mentally promised himself that they would get to New Haven soon. Matt had surprised both of them by wanting to continue the tradition after his accident, and Jack wasn’t about to complain. 

*** 

When Matt started going downhill fast, Jack knew something was wrong. He usually tried to not be overly strict, giving Matt space when it seemed like he needed it. He knew he could trust Matt to come to him when something was really wrong. But after a few weeks of working with Stick, when Matt refused to get out of bed for two straight days, Jack broke his own rule. 

He stormed into Matt’s room, looking down at his kid who had curled himself into as small of a ball as he could. It was actually a somewhat impressive feat, considering how fast he was growing. 

“You need to tell me what’s wrong right now, Matty, I swear to god.” he said, bristling with nerves and anger. “I can’t help if you do this to yourself, you know that, right? Right?” Matt pulled his knees even closer to his chest and shook his head, whimpering at the movement and noise. Jack’s gaze fell to the small medicine bottle on Matt’s nightstand where the antidepressants were. The bottle was almost gathering dust, untouched and full. 

“Why aren’t you taking your medicine, Matty?” 

“Stick says it’s for babies who can’t handle the real world.” Matt said. He squeezed his eyes shut so hard that his face seemed to be crumpling in on itself. “But it hurts.” Jack sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to put a hand on Matt’s forehead. 

“What hurts, Matty?” 

“All of it. It’s too loud and harsh and… and…” Matt faltered, unable to find the words to describe everything. “too much.” he finished. Jack felt his anger and nerves battling for dominance in his stomach and swallowed. 

“Is the medicine not working? I thought you were feeling better.” Matt shook his head so slightly that if Jack’s hand hadn’t been resting on his forehead, he wouldn’t have known. 

“It was working.” Matt whispered, barely audible. “But Stick says I can’t because only babies and girls need pills to feel better.” tears formed in the corners of his eyes, leaking through the pressed-shut lids. “I can’t need them because I have to be a man.” 

Jack stood, rage winning out. Everything went red around the edges and the devil reared its ugly head within him. 

“We’re done with Stick.” he growled. “Take your damn medicine, it’s going to help. I’m not letting that man back in here or near you if he’s going to hurt you.” Jack stormed out and paced in the living room, waiting for Stick to arrive. He wasn’t going to feel bad about punching a blind man if he was an asshole. He repeated that to himself while he waited for Stick to show up, but the person Jack had started to view as a mentor never did. Jack’s rage simmered down until it was just a hard pit in his stomach, always present, a proverbial seed waiting and ready to blossom back into total rage. 

They called him the devil for a reason. 

The seed of rage did not have to wait long to bloom. Stick was at the door the next day, ready and waiting. He already seemed to know that Jack was anticipating his arrival, wanting to fight. When Jack opened the door, Stick opened his mouth. 

“If it’s a fight you want, I can give you a fight. You’re going to regret it.” 

“You hurt my son.” Jack curled his fingers into fists and shuffled his feet, assuming a boxing stance. As he threw a punch, Stick slid back and out of the way, reaching out one hand to grab Jack’s wrist, twisting it until something snapped. 

Jack dropped his arm, biting back the gasp of pain and taking a deep breath through his nose before letting the devil out. Everything went hazy and he was fighting Stick one-handed. The other man twisted and flipped around him, far more nimble and graceful than his boxing stances. Jack got in a few good hits; they were evenly matched unless Stick was holding something back. 

In a final attempt to land one good punch, Jack forced his swelling fingers into a fist and aimed for Stick’s nose. They both went reeling when they heard crunching noises, some from Stick’s nose, some from Jack’s wrist. 

“I want you gone.” Jack said, panting. “I don’t ever want to see your face around here again. And don’t go near my kid.” 

“Fine.” Stick spit, blood dripping down his shirt. “Kid’s done anyway. Can’t work with him if he keeps acting like a pussy.” Jack slammed the door in his face and collapsed into a kitchen chair. He looked around, surveying the damage. They should move after he graduated and got a job. Nothing was destroyed beyond repair, but the place looked a little worse for the wear. 

He closed his eyes and sighed, tilting his head back and letting his nostrils flare as he breathed. Behind him, the bedroom door creaked open and Matt slipped out, hunched over and clearly in pain. He moved through the living room to sit in the other kitchen chair, pulling his knees to his chest almost automatically. 

“You take your medicine?” Jack asked, opening one eye and looking at Matt, who nodded. 

“Stick’s a ninja.” Matt said. Jack let his eye slip closed again as he sighed. 

“You could’ve warned me.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be, Matty. He’s not good for you. Don’t talk to him ever again if you can help it.” Jack ran his good hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face. 

“You’re bleeding.” Matt said, standing after a moment of quiet, hunting down the paper towels and bringing the roll to Jack. 

“Only a little.” he was glad that Matt couldn’t see him. One eye was swelling shut and the bridge of his nose had been split open at some point. The biggest concern was his wrist, which was already turning all sorts of colors that he didn’t know how to describe and was three times its normal size. He should go to a hospital, get it set, but he didn’t want to leave Matt and he didn’t have the money for a hospital trip. 

Matt dug an ice pack out of the freezer while Jack was busy examining his injuries. He took the pack and put it on his wrist, biting his tongue to hold back the automatic hiss of pain. 

“Dad, how bad is it?” Matt had resumed his seat across from Jack. 

“Not too bad.” he lied easily, wanting to spare Matt from the fact that an old blind man in his 70s had kicked his ass. Matt shook his head. 

“Don’t lie, dad.” Though he wasn’t sure how Matt knew, Jack let his head droop forward as he mentally went through his list of injuries again. 

“Gonna have a black eye for sure…” he said, looking himself over. “I’m gonna have a few bruises for a while and my wrist is definitely broken.” 

“You should go get it fixed.” Matt replied, listening to the list of injuries and nodding with each one. 

“I can’t go now, Matty.” 

“I’ll be fine here.” Jack looked at Matt carefully, scrutinizing his kid. He did seem better already. The medicine definitely didn’t work that fast, but if there was some kind of placebo effect, he wasn’t going to knock it. The fact that Matt was already out of bed was good enough for him. 

“Okay.” he finally said, standing. “I’ll go to the walk in place or something. There’s some stuff around for sandwiches or pasta, I think.” Matt stood and walked around the table, hugging Jack before darting away. 

Jack left the apartment, closing the door behind him. He realized on the way to Urgent Care that he hadn’t taken any pictures of Matt recently. He was glad of that. He would have ripped any photos involving Stick to shreds if he had the chance. 

He was away for a few hours, stopping to get a small bag of groceries, most of them canned vegetables that he could stretch out for a few days for Matt. It wouldn’t be the first time he missed out on a few meals to make sure that Matt had enough to eat, but he hoped it would be one of the last. He was going to graduate soon, and hopefully he’d be able to get a job when he did, if he passed the bar. 

Jack snuck into the apartment as quietly as possible. Matt was asleep on the couch, sleeping deeper than he had in months. Jack paused to watch for a moment, noting with relief that Matt seemed fully relaxed. Whatever had been weighing him down slipped from his shoulders and smoothed out in sleep. Jack didn’t want to wake him. He let Matt sleep on the couch for a few more minutes before waking him and nudging him toward the bedroom, laying on the couch and getting comfy. If he had his own room, he wouldn’t have had to wake Matt, but it wasn’t in the budget yet. It would be soon, he hoped. Things were iffy now, but they were looking up at the same time. Hopefully they got better. He wanted happy things to take pictures of.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to J for the beta read. Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
